Arup selected as prime engineer for Phase II of Hunter's Point South; Team also includes Thomas Balsley and WEISS/MANFREDI

Arup, a multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm, has been selected as the prime consultant to design the second phase of work at Hunter's Point South, where a sustainable housing community and waterfront park is expanding on 30 acres of city-owned waterfront property in Long Island City. Arup has been engaged to coordinate engineering, design and related consultant services for the street network and a waterfront park, and is providing civil, structural, and geotechnical engineering services, as well as design of the roadway and sewer infrastructure. Phase II is comprised of 15 acres of the planned development and includes a five-acre waterfront park and a newly developed street grid. Already recognized internationally as a model of urban ecology and innovative sustainable thinking, Hunter's Point South Phase I has been recognized by ACEC New York with a Platinum Award in the Special Projects Category in 2014; by AIA New York with an Urban Design Merit Award in 2013; by the American Society of Landscape Architects with an Honor Award in 2014; and the American Society of Landscape Architects with a Merit Award in 2012. The NYCEDC retained the same design team from Phase I to develop Phase II. Along with Arup, Thomas Balsley Associates is the landscape architect lead, and WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism is the design collaborator. Phase I of this complex design and construction project required coordination of approvals with nearly 20 city and state agencies. Arup and its design partners have been retained to deliver similar results in Phase II, and will leverage knowledge, an understanding of community concerns, and previously established relationships to pursue all applicable permits required to move the project forward. Upon completion Hunter's Point South will include up to 5,000 new housing units, of which 60% will be permanently affordable. The City is also planning for 100,000 SF of retail and 50,000 SF of community space. Phase I of the waterfront park includes a children's playground, basketball courts, a dog run, a multipurpose play field and an urban beach. Phase II will be more passive with signature architectural elements including overlooks of the East River and the Manhattan skyline with large elevated decks and sweeping shade canopies. "We recognize that the Hunter's Point South infrastructure and waterfront park will serve to support the development of an entire community and provide the city with a valuable new resource," said James DeMarco,Arup's project manager. "We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to its legacy." This is Arup's fourth project for the NYCEDC. Previous work includes the Coney Island Steeplechase Plaza, the East River Waterfront, and the Green Infrastructure Design for Newtown Creek and Westchester Creek.